Life and Art from FT Weekend

As The New Yorker magazine's go-to millennial, Jia Tolentino writes cultural criticism about the internet and how it affects us. She recently published Trick Mirror, a wildly popular collection of essays that explores contemporary culture. On this episode, Jia speaks with Gris about how the internet is moulding us in its image ("and it's important to remember that we are very mouldable!"). She also considers how it feels to find professional success on Twitter, a platform that can be ultimately harmful. Trick Mirror doesn't attempt to solve these problems; it just exposes and untangles them. Later in the episode, Lilah and Gris discuss whether that's enough.

Want to discuss the episode? Come chat with us @FTCultureCall on Twitter. You can also tell us about the cultural trends you can’t get out of your head at [email protected].

Relevant links:

Jia's New Yorker piece on vaping: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2018/05/14/the-promise-of-vaping-and-the-rise-of-juul

The FT book review of Trick Mirror (paywall): https://www.ft.com/content/c5454c2e-a70b-11e9-90e9-fc4b9d9528b4

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He opened the royal wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle with a love poem. His series Have You Heard George's Podcast? won multiple awards for its commentary on black inner city culture in the UK and beyond. George the Poet tells Gris about why he gave up rapping, and the privilege ⁠— and emotional toll ⁠— of representing his community. Later on, we discuss the latest mind-blowing discoveries in science, from our early ancestors to extraterrestrial life.

Talk to us on Twitter! We're at @FTculturecall. And let us know about the cultural trends you can’t get out of your head at [email protected].

Relevant links:

George the Poet at London Podcast Festival, September 6: https://www.kingsplace.co.uk/whats-on/words/have-you-heard-georges-podcast/

Lilah's Lunch with the FT with Alexis Ohanian: https://www.ft.com/content/dbc303c8-c345-11e9-a8e9-296ca66511c9 (paywall)

The Financial Times Masters of Science series: https://www.ft.com/mastersofscience2019

The Financial Times review of The Doctor at the Almeida Theatre, London: https://www.ft.com/content/29adabb8-c433-11e9-a8e9-296ca66511c9 (paywall)

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Gris and Lilah return with a revamped show: welcome to Culture Call! Lilah visits New York Times feature writer Taffy Brodesser-Akner at home in suburban New Jersey to talk about how she constructs her viral celebrity profiles (think Gwyneth Paltrow and Nicki Minaj). We also discuss her first novel, Fleishman is in Trouble. 

Good news: you can now find us on Twitter! It’s @FTculturecall. As always, feel free to email us with the cultural trends you can’t get out of your head at [email protected].

Relevant links:

Gris’s piece on how women essayists are shifting the rules in the literary world (paywall): 

https://www.ft.com/content/e8126aec-b1e3-11e9-bec9-fdcab53d6959

Taffy’s GQ cover story on Tom Hiddleston and his bolognese: 

https://www.gq.com/story/tom-hiddleston-cover-profile

The Financial Times’ book review of Fleishman is in Trouble: 

https://www.ft.com/content/52277526-96a0-11e9-98b9-e38c177b152f

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We're changing our name to Culture Call! We'll be bringing you everything that was great about Everything Else, plus an added emphasis on conversations with people who are shifting culture — writers, musicians, chefs, comedians and more. For regular listeners, there's no need to re-subscribe: we'll be back in your feeds on August 13!

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Three Women is one of the most talked-about books of the summer: a true story of female desire that took eight years to write. Lilah talks to its author, Lisa Taddeo, about what it was like to report on real women's sex lives — and why Woody Allen was wrong: there is such a thing as a bad orgasm. Plus: Lilah and James Fontanella-Khan, FT corporate deals editor, discuss their investigation into workplace stress and burnout. Why is it getting worse? And what can we do? Read it for free at ft.com/mentalhealth.

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Our big summer books episode! Plus, Simon Schama

Looking for a book that will give you an existential crisis on holiday? Gris and Lilah talk with Innovation Editor John Thornhill about what this summer’s best tech books say about our cultural psyche. (John sees a future in which a machine can write about its experience being a machine.) Plus, a conversation with resident genius Simon Schama, who defends the value of wordy writing

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FT film critic Raphael Abraham brings us behind the scenes at Cannes — and recommends the best movies to see this summer. Plus: to welcome season two of HBO's Big Little Lies, Gris and Lilah unpack the changing role of the housewife, and what the new internet sensation 'the wife guy' is doing for modern feminism.

Listen, subscribe, rate and review on Apple Podcasts.

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Gris meets the author and podcaster Jon Ronson (The Butterfly Effect, The Psychopath Test, So You've Been Publicly Shamed) to ask him why he’s drawn to secretive subcultures — from sites like 4chan to the Ku Klux Klan — and to discuss his latest podcast, The Last Days of August, and the ethics of reporting on the death of a young porn performer.

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Gris meets the activist, podcaster and author of On the Other Side of Freedom to discuss rising police violence against African Americans, what he learnt from meeting Obama, what Extinction Rebellion can learn from Black Lives Matter, and the role of social media (DeRay has over 1m followers on Twitter, including Beyoncé).

Plus: the FT's Alec Russell and India Ross discuss Game of Thrones. India recently wrote a blockbuster essay on the series for the FT; Alec, meanwhile, having never watched it before, has been attempting to consume every episode before the finale.

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